The Los Angeles Chargers have fired head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco, the club announced on Friday.
“I want to thank Tom and Brandon for their hard work, dedication and professionalism and wish both them and their great families nothing but the best,” team owner Dean Spanos said in a statement. “These decisions are never easy, nor are they something I take lightly – especially when you consider the number of people they impact.
“We are clearly not where we need to be, however, and we need new vision.”
The decision came down one day after the Chargers’ historic 63-21 defeat at the hands of the Las Vegas Raiders, during which they trailed 42-0 at half-time and didn’t cross midfield until the third quarter.
It was the most points ever allowed by the team, who gave up 57 to the St Louis Rams on 1 October 2000.
The Chargers dropped to 5-9 with Thursday’s setback, alone in last place in the AFC West.
Staley – who had an overall record of 24-25 – is the third NFL coach to be fired this season, joining Josh McDaniels of the Raiders and Carolina’s Frank Reich.
It is the first time since 1998 that the Chargers have made an in-season coaching move.
Telesco had been the general manager since 2013. The team only made three playoff appearances under his tenure and were 86-95 overall.
When the Chargers fell behind 42-0 late in the second quarter, some thought the move should have happened at half-time.
“Brandon Staley. I hate to say this because you don’t ever want to call for somebody’s job, but they should fire him. They should make history. They should fire him at half-time,” Amazon Prime Video analyst Richard Sherman said. “We’ve got an Uber X carpool outside and we’ll send you on your way because right now, I’ve never seen a team come out this uninspired.”
"[The Chargers] should make history. They should fire [Brandon Staley] at halftime."- Richard Sherman #TNF pic.twitter.com/IIDP3mZCZw
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 15, 2023
While Staley had been confident about his job security in the past, Thursday night’s titanic defeat had him questioning his future. He said “I don’t know” when asked if he would still be leading the Chargers on Friday.
